Since consumers often purchase a product based upon aesthetic as well as functional considerations, a consumer product package designer must strive to provide such containers with a dispensing system which is attractive, reasonable in cost and easy to use. To achieve these ends, custom-made molds designed for each dispensing system and the container on which it will be placed must be designed and built. This often requires a large inventory of different parts as well as design considerations in making parts molds and assembling the parts which introduce cost disadvantages when a large number of consumer product packages are to be made for sale.
A more aesthetically pleasing consumer product package can be made by integrating the dispenser into the overall package design through the use of an overcap which surrounds the dispenser. Thus, a number of consumer product package designs use a one piece overcap which includes a dispensing means as well as a container seal so that the overcap/ dispenser seal unit is simply snapped onto the container and is integrated within the overall design of the consumer product package itself. Examples of such overcap/dispensers can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,600,130 to Libit and 4,807,781 to Bobinger and Gutkowski. Use of such overcaps/dispensers have some disadvantages in that a separate mold is typically needed for each container size and design. Particularly in the case of a flip-top dispenser, a separate machine which receives the molded overcap/dispenser and closes the flip-top prior to mounting on the container is necessary for the high speed packaging operations which are required for high volume consumer products. Since such machines are set up to be specific for the size and shape of the overcap/dispenser, the manufacturer must either invest in several machines if he wishes to make several different sizes of caps or spend unproductive time resetting one machine to receive a different size overcap/dispenser.
Pressurized aerosol and pump spray aerosol containers often employ the use of a plastic overcap which is shaped in such a manner as to blend in with the overall package design. In some cases, an aerosol actuator button is mounted on a valve or pump outlet and is free of any contact with a separate overcap such as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,881,638 to Grothoff and U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,081 to van Lit and in Spanish Utility Model No. 1,003,498 to S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. More commonly, the plastic overcap contains guides or channels or some other means for keeping the actuator button in line with an exit orifice or open area in the overcap itself so that the aerosol spray is directed in the proper direction, such as are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,109,565 to Kutik (a lever arm on the overcap presses down upon an actuator button which has a projecting lug engaging with a groove in the overcap); U.S. Pat. No. 3,138,331 to Kutik (an upward extending shank retains the actuator button in alignment); U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,680 to Crowell et al. (the aerosol actuator button is guided by a channel formed in the center of the overcap); U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,078 to Venus, Jr. (a one piece actuator/overcap assembly where the aerosol actuator button is molded as a part of the plastic overcap and is released by pulling a tear strip temporarily joining the cap and actuator button); U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,220 to Green et al. (the aerosol valve actuator button is molded to the overcap and downward pressure on the button causes it to disengage and fit onto the valve stem of the aerosol container whereby the button seats on the valve stem and is no longer in contact with the overcap); U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,646 to Lo et al. (an actuator button is contained within a plastic overcap and combined with a surface having effective and ineffective areas for use as a child-safe aerosol actuator); U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,899 to van Lit (an aerosol actuator button is guided by means of alignment pin located on the overcap) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,646 to Crapser (a plastic overcap contains guides which fit in channels in the side of the pump actuator button to maintain it in alignment with the opening in the overcap) In all of the immediately preceding patents, the overcap snaps directly onto the container and the actuator button is mounted on the valve stem or pump stem of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,273 to Anderson et al. shows a spray dispensing assembly for an aerosol container which is composed of a plastic overcap which seats within the edge of the aerosol container. The actuator button is carried within a second circular member which snaps over the valve cup of the container and is smaller in diameter than the plastic overcap. The outside plastic overcap can be rotated around the inner circular member to either prevent the container from being actuated or to provide either a fine or a coarse spray. A portion of the outer overcap engages with the periphery of the circular inner member so that the outer cap can be rotated to select the spray desired.
A plastic overcap dispenser found on a number of consumer products sold by S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. such as PLEDGE.RTM. furniture polish has a plastic overcap which snaps over the valve cup on the aerosol container. An actuator button fitting over the valve stem of the container is snapped within guides found in the center of that plastic overcap so that the valve actuator button is contained within the plastic overcap. The button is restricted in its movement to an up and down motion so that the discharge opening of the actuator button is retained within a small opening in the side of the plastic overcap. The spray is then directed through an opening in the plastic overcap when the actuator button is pressed. The actuator button is only attached to the valve stem of the aerosol container.